


Home for Christmas

by Kerkerian



Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: Caring, Episode s03e09 Home for Christmas, Established Relationship, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 20:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17988380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerkerian/pseuds/Kerkerian
Summary: When Nick comes home from Wyoming, his cold is finally catching up with him.





	Home for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [4badmice](https://archiveofourown.org/users/4badmice/gifts).



> Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Riptide.
> 
> This is for and because of my friend 4badmice, who kept pestering me about 'Riptide' once it was clear we both loved the show. I was surprised to see that it even has its own category here on AO3. Love small fandoms!  
> So anyway, we talked about favourite episodes, that's why this is tied in with the episode of the same title.

 

Nick didn't expect for Cody and Murray to be at the airport, since it was very early in the morning. He had been with Ben until the old man had thanked him once more and said he needed to be alone now. So Nick had taken a cab to the airfield and had waited for his flight, huddling into his coat because the waiting area was barely heated.

He rubbed his eyes which were burning with fatigue after a sleepless night, though it probably also had something to do with the past few weeks- first the cold, then the events of the past few days. He couldn't remember when he last slept for more than a few hours, and to top it all off, the darn cold wouldn't budge. He kept coughing, and both his throat and his head felt worse than they had before Wyoming, even worse than when Murray had kept playing the Chipmunks Christmas songs.

Weary and exhausted, Nick exited the small arrivals hall, but stopped when he noticed Cody leaning against the guardrail with his arms folded in front of his chest, his expression lighting up when he saw his partner.

“Hey,” Nick said, briefly resting his hand on Cody's arm; his voice caught however and he promptly began to cough. “Shouldn't you be in bed?”

Cody regarded him attentively, his expression affectionate: “Probably, but from the looks of it, so should you,” he countered, reaching for Nick's duffle bag.

If he hadn't still been coughing, he'd have protested, but as it was, he just fell into step with Cody, who kept glancing at him sideways: “You okay, big guy?”

“Yeah,” Nick croaked. “Just tired.”

Cody's expression remained concerned, but he nodded: “Okay. Well, your bed's waiting for you, and I've hidden the Chipmunks tape.”

Nick gave a tired chuckle: “Best news I've had all week.”

 

He fell asleep in the car and was rather confused when Cody woke him with a hand on his arm: “We're here.”

He blinked, glad that Cody took his arm on their way down to the _Riptide_ to steady him. The sky was tinted in rosy colours, the air was cool; Nick was glad to still be wearing his coat, since he was chilled to the bone from the flight and hadn't yet begun to thaw.

Quietly, in order not to wake Murray, they made their way inside and down to their stateroom, where Nick began to shed his clothes, coughing intermittently, his movements clumsy with fatigue. Wordlessly, Cody took his coat and his uniform and put them away, then he disappeared. With a sigh, Nick crawled under the covers; he noticed that someone, probably Cody, had put on fresh sheets in the meantime. When he came back, he carried a glass of water, some ibuprofen and a hot water bottle:“I can see that you have a headache. And your hands are cold. I'm guessing your feet aren't any better.”

Touched, Nick took the glass and the pill from him and watched as Cody put the hot water bottle under his feet; for a moment, his toes ached fiercely, but then it was heavenly.

“Thank you,” he muttered, putting the glass on the nightstand and easing himself down on the pillows; his head was throbbing by now, and it was a relief to close his eyes.

Cody tucked him in, then the mattress dipped and he felt a hand on his forehead. After a moment, it slid down to his neck, gently caressing his jaw with one thumb: “Good to have you back, Baby,” Cody said softly. Nick wanted to open his eyes once more, tell him that he was glad to be home, but he couldn't assemble the words. Instead, he disentangled his cold hands from the blankets and reached for Cody's, who were warm, and only moments later, sleep claimed him.

 

Cody sat with him for quite a while, gently kneading his hands and waiting for them to thaw. Nick's slender fingers were the first thing he had noticed about him all those years ago, because Nick, a stranger at the time, had been the chopper pilot on duty when Cody's unit had nearly gotten killed one night, and it had been Nick who had pulled Cody out of his pain-induced stupor, had helped him up and into the waiting Huey, shielding him with own body. He later remembered staring at the hands of the person who had just saved him for which can't have been a long time but which seemed like an eternity nevertheless; the image was probably going to stay with him forever.

With an effort, he shook himself out of it, knowing that he wasn't going to go back to bed even though it was still early. He was wide awake now, and he was concerned about Nick's health. From the dark shadows underneath his eyes and his slightly haggard face he could tell that Nick hadn't gotten much -if any- rest recently, and his cold seemed to have gotten worse. He had actually lost weight, too, which was not surprising considering that he had been sick during the two weeks before Christmas and hadn't had much of an appetite either once he was able to keep things down again.

Sighing softly, he let go of Nick's left hand and caressed his cheek with the back of his fingers, wishing he could do something to make Christmas a bit more bearable for him. Each year, it weighed heavily on his mind from the moment the radio stations began to play Jingle Bells. He hadn't told Cody what it was exactly that had made Christmas so traumatic during his childhood, but he could imagine a thing or two judging from what he knew about Nick's upbringing in general.

Unexpectedly, Nick turned his face into Cody's hand, gave a small sigh of his own and lay still again. Cody regarded him and felt his heart nearly bursting with love. "Merry Christmas, Baby," he whispered.

 

Nick woke up around noon, feeling rather worse for wear. His throat was dry and it hurt to cough, and his head was muzzy and feeling congested, a dull ache still somewhere in the background. He also felt uncomfortably hot, and his body was aching as well. When he pushed himself into a sitting position, he was dizzy for a moment. With slow movements, he got to his feet, swaying; for a moment there, his vision blackened and he could hear his blood pulsing in his ears; once the bout was over, he made his way to the head staggeringly.

On his way back to bed, he kept one hand on the wall for support, but if Cody hadn't unexpectedly been there, he'd probably ended up on the floor because his legs threatened to give out. Cody however eased him down on the mattress with a worried expression.

“Sorry,” Nick croaked. “Got dizzy.”

Holding him upright with one strong arm, Cody felt his temples and forehead with the other hand: “You're probably running a fever,” he muttered. “I think your cold is getting worse, Nicky.”

Groaning, Nick leaned his head against Cody's shoulder: “Certainly feels like it.”

Cody pressed a kiss against his hair: “Sorry, Baby.”

He tucked Nick back in: “When did you last eat?”

“Don't know. Some time yesterday.”

Cody shook his head: “I'm going to make some tea and toast, okay?”

Nick didn't look too happy since he felt queasy. He managed only a few bites, but at least drank most of the tea. When he had nodded off again, Cody cleared the dishes away with a steep frown; he didn't like how quickly Nick's condition seemed to be deteriorating. Though, knowing Nick, he had probably felt lousy all the time but had held on by his teeth with that stubborn, iron will of his for Ben Wilkenson's sake. Yes, that seemed more likely. And now that the adrenaline had worn off, his body was going on strike.

 

Murray volunteered to go shopping, which was a relief since Cody didn't want to leave Nick alone. He sat on his bunk with a book, glancing at his sleeping partner from time to time.

Nick coughed himself awake at one point, it was in the late afternoon. Cody immediately went to his side and handed him some water once the bout was over. Nick was definitely running a fever now, his skin felt clammy and way too hot. His hand was trembling as he handed the glass back after only two sips.

“You gotta drink some more, Buddy,” Cody said gently. Nick turned his head away; he felt queasy and wasn't even sure if what little he had drunk would stay down. Therefore he eased himself back down on the pillow and closed his eyes.

Cody regarded him for a moment, then he went up into the salon and dialled Doc Harris' number.

 

Nick next opened his eyes when the mattress dipped again and a faint scent of pipe tobacco made itself known.

“Merry Christmas! Heard you're still under the weather,” Doc Harris said with that benign smile of his. “Let me just take a quick look at you, okay?”

"M'rry..." Nick managed before his throat closed up and he began to cough again. His eyes were streaming once the bout was over.

 

Cody was making some fresh coffee when Murray returned, laden with bags. Quickly, Cody took two off of him and set them down while Murray took care of the rest: “I got everything on the list,” he said, pushing his glasses up his nose, “and some lovely strawberries from the stand outside the shop. I could smell them even from the parking lot, and I know how much you like them, so I thought...” He trailed off, grinning. Cody put a hand on his shoulder for a moment: “Thanks, Buddy,” he said. “That's really boss of you.”

Murray giggled and began to unpack the bags.

“I called Doc Harris,” Cody said conversationally, giving him a hand. “Nick's running a fever, and he looks really peaky.”

Murray shook his head: “He shouldn't have gone to Wyoming, if you ask me,” he said. “Not with that head cold, anyway. He should have stayed and made sure he was fully recuperated before anything else.”

Feeling a little guilty, Cody hung his head; it was he after all who had told Nick to get of there if Christmas bothered him so much, right before that phone call. “Yeah,” he only said softly. “But you know how he is. Stubborn.” He'd have gone anyway.

Murray nodded: “Yeah. Probably his Italian ancestry.”

 

When Doc Harris came out of the stateroom ten minutes later, he shook his head: “He should have stayed in bed, as I told him the last time I was here.”

Cody and Murray exchanged a look, both of them immediately feeling guilty for not having forced Nick to be more careful.

The doctor heaved a sigh: “Well, what's done is done. I have however told him that I'll have him admitted to the hospital if he doesn't heed my instructions this time.”

Cody nodded: “Yeah, probably a good idea. And how's he doing?”

“Well, it's the flu, so he's feeling lousy. Especially since he managed to turn a mild case into a severe one. How he was even on his feet and functioning is beyond me.”

Cody had to sit down. “He told us it was just a cold. I had no idea...”

“Figures,” Doc Harris grumbled.

Murray, who had been quiet so far, put one hand on Cody's shoulder: “At least he's home and in bed now,” he said. “And we'll make sure he'll be okay.”

 

Nick was asleep by the time Cody looked in on him a little later; he still looked peaky, though the doctor had given him something to help bring the fever down and had left a fresh packet of ibuprofen if there was no improvement soon.

In the evening, Cody made Nick drink some chicken broth. Once he was done, Cody helped him into a fresh shirt and quickly put fresh sheets on the bed too; shivering because the fabric was still cool, Nick lay back down, his eyes on Cody as he reached for his hand: “Thanks,” he muttered. “Sorry 'bout all this. Ruining Christmas for you.”

Cody caressed his cheek with the other hand: “Not your fault,” he muttered. “And you're not ruining anything. Though I am going to tie you to your bunk next time you claim to have 'a cold'.”

Nick managed a grin: “Promise?”

Against his will, Cody laughed, shaking his head: “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah.” Nick regarded him with tired eyes: “It was worth it, for Ben's sake. But I'm glad to be home.”

Cody smiled: “Glad to _have_ you home.” His smile turned into a grin: "In fact, all I want for Christmas is you."

Nick only groaned theatrically, but he never let go of Cody's hand.

 

Some time on the following day, which was Christmas Day, the fever slowly abated, and Nick lost his ghastly pallor. He slept a lot during the days after that, which Cody deemed the best he could do. He made sure Nick had everything he needed whenever he woke up, and Murray and he took it slow as well.

The first time Nick got up again was on New Year's Eve. He was rather unsteady on his legs at first after having been in bed for so long, but he enjoyed being outside and getting some fresh air. The three of them sat on the fantail and looked back at the year they'd had.

“Any resolutions?” Cody then asked.

Murray squinted into the sky as he pondered the question: “I should probably revisit the notion of getting more physically active next year,” he said thoughtfully. “Maybe take up some karate or something.”

“Karate?” Cody echoed.

“Yeah, well, since it turned out that running's not my thing... karate is similar to a fine-tuned dance, and I'm quite adept at that, if I say so myself.”

Cody exchanged a glance with Nick: “Sound logic, Murray,” he said. “You should definitely give it a try.”

“You really think so, Cody? Aw, thanks!”

“What about you, Nick?”

Nick stretched out his legs: “I dunno, man... maybe I'll work on my patience... try not to get grumpy even if someone plays the Chipmunks' christmas tape over and over again.”

Murray giggled: “I'm sorry, I just love it so much! Though I seem to have it misplaced it...”

Cody nodded: “I'm sure it'll turn up again. Otherwise, Nick will help you find it. You know, with his newfound patience and all.”

Murray's giggling turned into high-pitched laughter.

Nick rolled his eyes: “You know what- Cody might just buy you a new one.”

“He might?”

“And a Walkman.”

“Oh, _good_ thinking!”

“What am I, rich?” Cody exclaimed.

Ignoring him, Nick heaved a sigh: “And I think I'll visit Ben one day, see how he's doing.”

At that, the others fell silent, though Murray was still giggling a little while he dried his eyes with the corner of his handkerchief.

After a moment, Cody put his arm around Nick's shoulders: “Grumpy or not, you're a good guy, Nick Ryder,” he said softly.

Nick looked at him: “Are you going to get all gooey on me now?” he asked. His eyes however were smiling.

 

In the evening, they ordered some pizza and watched some old Westerns. Long before the second movie ended, Nick dozed off, his head pillowed on Cody's thigh. The latter gently shook him awake shortly before midnight; they clinked glasses, if filled with ginger ale instead of champagne, and went on deck to watch the fireworks around the marina. Once it died down a little, they went to bed.

Nick, who was already done brushing his teeth, sat on his bunk; the moment Cody entered their stateroom, he reached out for him. Cody quickly shed his sweater and his slacks and crawled in with his partner; they wrapped their arms around one another and Nick pushed one legs between Cody's as was his wont.

“Missed this,” he muttered, sighing contentedly.

“Hey, Nicky?” Cody said softly. Nick opened his eyes once more: “Hm?”

“Happy New Year. I love you.” Cody's eyes were smiling.

Nick smiled as well, if very drowsily, and leaned in for a kiss: “I love you too. Happy New Year, Baby.”

They snuggled as close as possible after that, and it didn't take long for them to fall asleep.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm not a Native Speaker, therefore I apologize for any mistakes.


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